I registered an IDN that is a German last name and is also the name of a large ($5 billion a year) corporation. As far as I can tell they do not have a U.S. trademark on the IDN version of this name. It is currently parked and is not in an arena that is within their field.

I did not know of the firm's existence until after I registered it (my motivation was that it was a common last name although it is not my last name).

More details on this can be found here. http://www.namepros.com/legal-issues...trademark.html.

I suspect that they would make better use of the domain than I and so would be willing to sell.....BUT I do not want to be accused of being a cyber-squatter.

Any thoughts on how one approaches this kind of thing? Should I just leave well enough alone? Put it up for auction at Sedo and let them know?.

Thanks......

Comments (10)

You bring up an interesting question, but more so I am curious if large companies feel they need to secure IDN domain names?..

Comment #1

I think it really depends on the company. The company's name is something like.

Schnd Plasic Products (NOT the real name).

They now use Schund.com as their webpage (They also have Schund.at, Schund.de and Schund.ch)....but now it gets interesting.

Schnd.de is used by a different company.

Schuend.de and Schuend.com ("ue" can substitute for "") are used by two other companies.

So Schnd Plasic Products seems to have staked out Schund as it's domain space.....BUT it isn't really their name. In German "u" and "" are clearly two different vowels...

Comment #2

If you make money off of it, they will accuse you of being a cybersquatter. Your best bet is to use it in a non commercial venture or advertise the heck out of it.

Or sell it to them really cheap... The registration price + 50.00 ( consultancy fee ). Anything more than would not look good IMO.

A lawyer would know better than us though...

Comment #3

Thanks Marcel. I don't think I need to worry about TM with this so I'm sticking with commercial parking for now.

I agree the cyber-squatting charge is troublesome....I guess it is best to just sit on it as I could likely make $50 in a year or two from parking.....not really worth selling it at that price.

It is tough....I've identified a potential buyer for a domain but am scared to pursue because I'm afraid that it will become a huge headache...

Comment #4

[QUOTE=baerman2001]Thanks Marcel. I don't think I need to worry about TM with this so I'm sticking with commercial parking for now.

QUOTE].

You don't need to worry about it until the links show their or their competitors products or services, then that can be used against you in a UDRP. I would also like to point out, a TM holder only needs to show rights or greater rights to a domain. Just be caseful on how it's used...

Comment #5

Any Commercial parking or usage will lead to potential legal problems and TM legal issues. Your safer writing a blog about your cat and using no ads or text links to commercial websites.

You should measure the consequences of keeping + fighting for it VS the benefits of a one time sale + small profit.

With the extra cash you can buy other domains and move on...

Comment #6

Go to de-poll or where ever and change your name to the same as the domain problem solved. Now you have full rights to own the domain. But I guess you would have had of done this before registration to be totally safe.

Joke.....

Comment #7

I would just offer it for sale. (something reasonable where you still profit like a 150$) That way most likley they will just pay you since it would cost more to sue you...

Comment #8

Just sell it to them for however much you have paid in hosting/renewal fees over the years...

Comment #9

If it's a common surname, you probably have some generic rights to it. If you park it, do so somewhere that you can direct what links show and where you can block ones that might seem in bad faith or confused with their product. Sedopro parking allows directing to a category of surnames and also disabling keywords that could infringe on a TM. I would think others might have these same features.

I would NOT offer the domain to anyone currently using it. That's a sure way to get accused of bad faith. Park it and wait for them to come to you, or just market it to the generic use. You could also develop it as a forum for genealogy for people of that name, and try to sell it that way...

Comment #10

This question was taken from a support group/message board and re-posted here so others can learn from it.